A Few Tips for a Mindful, Meaningful and Fun Holiday Season

“Not he is great who can alter matter, but he who can alter my state of mind.”

I’d have to agree with Emerson. Many of us think that we have control over our reactions, but the reality is most of the time we are walking around reacting to all kinds of things. Our brain is taking in information through it’s various appendages (eyes, ears, mouth, legs/arms, nose), translating the information and making decisions of what is good or bad, right or wrong, necessary or unnecessary, urgent or non-urgent, important or unimportant.

We only learn about some of these decisions after we’ve acted on them.

Corporations know about this and so they put out subtle cues in the advertising that say “If you don’t have (fill in the blank), then you’ll be unhappy.”

Right after Thanksgiving ended I walked into a Target to get a couple things and lo and behold all of the Christmas decorations were up. Immediately I sensed an opening in me, a state of cheerfulness and a desire to shop.

There is some kind of Pavlovian conditioning in most of us around this time that borders around spending, spending, spending.

Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, our economy can always use people spending money on it. We can also view it as a time to be generous and really give to others.

However, the real question is who is choosing your state of mind? Is it you or is it the media?

Take this as an opportunity to choose your state of mind going into this week and through the New Year.

Here are a few steps to make sure you are the one in control of your mind:

Set an intention – Take a moment to really consider how you want to be throughout the rest of the holidays. If you’re going to be with family and friends, howwould you like to be with them (e.g., present, listening, playful)? Or maybe the holidays are a grieving time for you this year. How can you be gentle with yourself?

Be present – In order to pay attention to this intention, it’ll be important to integrate some practice that brings you to the present moment. This might be a mindfulness practice such as coming to the breath, or maybe closing the eyes and listening to sounds, or maybe taking a moment to look at all the sights around you.

Make meaning– The holidays are meant to be a time of meaning. For Christmas, if it is meaningful, you might consider what the birth of Jesus means to you, or if that isn’t meaningful, you might consider the meaning of being in the rare experience of spending time with people you don’t see often. Or if your holiday is Kwanzaa, you might reflect upon the meaning of your African heritage and culture. No matter your spiritual background, this can be a time to just stop, reflect and make meaning from your life.

Don’t forget to play! – The holidays are also a time that can bring people together to have fun and play. Pick up the camera more, reconnect with old friends, read a pleasurable book, or take a 2-hour date with yourself or others and do something out of your routine that feeds you. If you find yourself in a bad mood, use these 3 steps to help break it.

As always, please share your thoughts, stories, and questions below. Your interaction here provides a living wisdom for us all to benefit from.

APA Reference
Goldstein, E. (2015). A Few Tips for a Mindful, Meaningful and Fun Holiday Season. Psych Central.
Retrieved on February 18, 2018, from https://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindfulness/2015/12/a-few-tips-for-a-mindful-meaningful-and-fun-holiday-season/

Last updated: 15 Dec 2015Views expressed are those solely of the author, not of Psych Central, and have not been reviewed.
Originally published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.